The Marvel/Netflix universe has been praised by critics and fans alike for its raw, gritty action, realistic storylines and complex characters. The universe kicked off with “Daredevil” season 1, which was a runaway success and considered by many the best season out of all four shows. However, the newest edition to the universe, “Iron Fist”, has been met with mixed reviews. As I am a big fan of the Marvel/Netflix series, I kept an open mind. Unfortunately, after watching season 1, I have to agree with the critics. “Iron Fist” is extremely flawed and fails to capture what made the other Marvel/Netflix series great. Here are some of its biggest problems.

For one, IT’S BORING. The show is extremely slow and does not pick up until maybe the last 3 or 4 episodes. The storyline wasn’t at all compelling; I didn’t feel the need to keep watching because I didn’t feel invested in the story. I also didn’t feel invested in any of the characters. Finn Jones as Danny Rand, aka Iron Fist, came across as preachy and one-dimensional. He had a one-track mind that constantly got him and the people around him in trouble and would often slow down the story. While I do understand the character’s immaturity, as he hasn’t had contact with the Western world since he was a preteen, his lack of emotional stability was hard to watch as a viewer. When it came to the rest of the cast, I found them either extremely annoying or widely unforgettable. The one exception to this is Rosario Dawson as Claire Temple. Claire has appeared in all four Marvel/Netflix shows as “The Night Nurse”, where she is constantly running into people who have special abilities or gifts (and having to treat their injuries). Throughout the entire season, she seemed like the only character who had anything compelling to say, and I often found that her dialogue often matched my inner dialogue about the story and its characters.

While the moral ambiguity of characters can definitely make a story more interesting, I think “Iron Fist” suffers from the fact that it didn’t have a clear villain. Though in past Marvel/Netflix series the protagonist(s) have had several people they needed to focus on, there was always a main villain, i.e Wilson Fisk/Kingpin in “Daredevil” and Kilgrave/The Purple Man in “Jessica Jones”. The Hand, an evil organization that is shrouded in mystery (and ambiguity) is the Iron Fist’s sworn enemy, but the face of The Hand kept changing throughout the season. The final battle of the season (slight spoiler) wasn’t even between Iron Fist and The Hand. That lack of focus on an antagonist ultimately hurt the show.

Another problem with the season is the lackluster fight choreography. I find this especially ironic as the character of Iron Fist is largely defined by his knowledge of Kung Fu. Many of the fight scenes were often unrealistic, where the characters were able to easily overpower dozens of men, usually armed with guns, at a time. This was so unfortunate due to the exceptional fight choreography in “Daredevil”, which had one of the best and most realistic fight scenes put to television in the famous “Hallway battle” of season 1. Finn Jones’ awkward fighting style also didn’t help, where he often looked like a white guy trying to imitate someone doing Kung Fu. I don’t think that’s necessarily the actor’s fault, but I do think that they should have hired a white actor who had prior martial arts experience to play one of the best martial artists in the Marvel universe.

Probably the most unusual problem I found with the show is the weird editing. One of the big differences between movies and TV is that the directors often change episode to episode. That transition, however, isn’t supposed to be obvious. It was clear that every director had their own idea as to what the show would be like, which lead to the show being very erratic visually. What specifically comes to mind are one or two moments where there is a split screen effect done to see different parts of a fight scene at a time. This is done so quickly and awkwardly that it took me out of the show for a couple of moments.

While there are many other issues with Marvel’s “Iron Fist”, including several plot holes and a lack of explanations (i.e how does Danny know how to drive if he’s lived in the mountains since he was 11? Why was he never able to do that cool flip he did in the first episode again? Why is The Hand split into two groups? Who is the monk Danny keeps seeing? And why does Danny stop seeing him halfway through the season?), these are the ones that drag down the series the most. All in all, I think that Marvel’s “Iron Fist” is definitely skippable. One could easily read a synopsis of the season and be set for the upcoming crossover series “The Defenders”. Personally, I’m mostly upset because I got this instead of “Jessica Jones” season 2.